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Plan for California's Nonpoint Source Pollution Control

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Plan for California's Nonpoint Source Pollution Control VOLUME I NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, 1998-2013 (PROSIP) State Water Resources Control Board California Coastal Commission JANUARY 2000 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Plan for California’s Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program (Program Plan) is the first significant upgrade of California’s Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution Control Program (NPS Program) since its inception in 1988. California is required to have its Program conform to the Clean Water Act (CWA) and section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 (CZARA). The lead State agencies for upgrading the Program are the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) (designated lead water quality agency), the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs), and the California Coastal Commission (CCC) (designated lead coastal zone management agency). The Program Plan will be submitted for approval to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the lead federal agencies that administer the CWA and the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) respectively. Finding solutions to NPS pollution poses unique challenges. Although the SWRCB and CCC have lead roles in developing and coordinating the implementation of the Program, they are not solely responsible for solving the problem. Over 20 other State agencies have authorities, programs, or responsibilities relating to the control of NPS pollution. Coordinating and focusing such a large number of entities to produce an effective NPS program in a state as large and geomorphologically diverse as California poses unique and difficult challenges. While increased use of regulatory authorities can help to address certain categories of NPS pollution (such as the relatively recent effort to issue permits for the most significant municipal storm water discharges), California will need to rely on a wide range of tools, activities, and authorities to address NPS pollution statewide. Initially, implementation will focus significant resources on management measures (MMs) identified as primary and secondary in Table 8, on retooling the Program’s infrastructure, and on institutionalizing Program processes and mechanisms to make certain the State meets the commitments made in the Program Plan. The State is committed to implementing the 61 NPS MMs by 2013 consistent with Federal Administrative Guidance (USEPA and NOAA, 1998), the Three-Tiered Approach adopted in the Nonpoint Source Management Plan, November 1988 (1988 Plan), and priorities identified in the Watershed Management Initiative (WMI) Chapters. The WMI, approved by the SWRCB in 1995, is used to help the SWRCB meet its goal to provide water resource protection, enhancement, and restoration. WMI uses an integrated planning approach to create and implement unique solutions for each watershed. Each RWQCB and the SWRCB revises its WMI Chapter annually to reflect changing priorities and conditions in the State’s watersheds. Revisions currently underway will ensure that the WMI chapters and RWQCBs’ actions are consistent with the Program Plan’s goal of implementing all MMs by 2013. Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) are another implementation planning tool that will enhance the State’s ability to foster implementation of appropriate NPS MMs. By providing watershed- specific information, TMDLs will help target specific sources and corresponding corrective measures and will provide a framework for using more stringent approaches that may be necessary to achieve water quality goals and maintain beneficial uses. ii Approximately 1,500 water body-pollutant combinations requiring TMDL development have been identified in the CWA section 303(d) list. During the Fifteen-Year Strategy, the RWQCBs are committed to the development of 500 to 800 individual TMDLs which will account for all 1,500 water body-pollutant combinations. The commitment of financial and staff resources to this effort will be influential in addressing the State’s effectiveness in controlling NPS problems. NPS pollution, also known as polluted runoff, is the leading cause of water quality impairments in California and in the Nation. NPSs, including natural sources, are the major contributors of pollution to impacted streams, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, marine waters, and ground water basins in California and are important contributors of pollution to harbors and bays (SWRCB, 1998). Unlike pollution from distinct, identifiable point sources (e.g., industrial or waste water treatment plant discharge pipes), NPS pollution comes from many diffuse sources. Rainfall, snowmelt, or irrigation water that moves over and through the ground results in NPS pollution. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants and deposits them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, ground water, and other inland and coastal waters. The Program’s roots were established in 1988 when the SWRCB adopted and the USEPA approved the original plan for the 1988 Plan (SWRCB, 1988) in response to CWA section 319. In 1990 Congress identified NPS pollution as a significant factor contributing to coastal water degradation, noting the link between coastal water quality and land use activities. In response, Congress amended the CZMA by passing CZARA. CZARA requires the lead water quality agency and coastal zone management agencies to jointly develop and submit a coastal nonpoint pollution control program (CNPCP). In February 1994, the SWRCB initiated a comprehensive review of the Program using technical advisory committees (TACs) for ten categories of NPS pollution. Over 150 people participated in the TACs as public and private representatives for irrigated agriculture, nutrient application, pesticide application, confined animal facilities, grazing, urban runoff, on-site sewage disposal systems, boating and marinas, hydromodification and wetlands, and abandoned mines. The TACs presented their recommendations to the SWRCB in 1995 (SWRCB, 1994 a-i). In lieu of a separate program for the coastal zone, the State decided to satisfy CZARA requirements on a statewide basis. As required by statute, in September 1995, the SWRCB and CCC submitted California’s initial CZARA response to USEPA and NOAA. The response included two documents: California’s Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Submittal, detailing the State’s existing programs related to NPS pollution management, and the Initiatives in Nonpoint Source Management, based on the recommendations of the TACs. USEPA and NOAA released draft findings and conditions for the State’s September 1995 submittal in October 1996. In August 1997, the SWRCB, CCC, USEPA Region 9, and USEPA and NOAA headquarters staffs negotiated the Action Plan which outlined a framework and activities for the State to achieve both an approvable program consistent with CZARA and an “enhanced status” Program by addressing the nine key elements in the USEPA’s Nonpoint Source Program and Grants Guidance of 1997 and Future Years. In July 1998, USEPA and NOAA issued their Final Findings and Conditional Approval for California’s submittal. Consistent with the Action Plan and final administrative changes to CNPCP guidance issued in October 1998, for final approval the State must: (1) adopt MMs consistent with the Guidance Specifying Management Measures for iii Sources of Nonpoint Pollution to Coastal Waters (USEPA, 1993); (2) identify back-up and enforceable policies and mechanisms for the MMs; (3) demonstrate the ability for widespread implementation of the MMs; and (4) address the nine key elements. The Program Plan is the State’s final submittal intended to satisfy the CWA section 319(h) requirements for “an upgraded program” and the CZARA requirements for a CNPCP. The Program Plan achieves this goal by providing a single unified, coordinated statewide approach to dealing with NPS pollution structured around 61 MMs. MMs serve as general goals for the control and prevention of polluted runoff. Site-specific management practices (MPs) are then used to achieve the goals of each management measure. Implementation of MMs will occur using a fifteen-year strategy with three nested five-year implementation plans. The fifteen-year strategy and each five-year implementation plan use an iterative program process. The program process includes: (1) assessing Program activities; (2) targeting efforts; (3) planning activities based on Program goals and objectives; (4) coordinating the efforts of federal, State, and local agencies and stakeholders; (5) implementing coordinated actions; (6) tracking and monitoring the results of implemented actions; and (7) reporting on Program results. The Program Plan is designed to be flexible and adaptable over time. Specifically, the Program Plan: 1. Adopts 61 MMs as goals for six NPS categories (agriculture, forestry, urban areas, marinas and recreational boating, hydromodification, and wetlands/riparian areas/vegetated treatment systems); 2. Provides a fifteen-year strategy for fully implementing the MMs; 3. Continues use of the “Three-Tiered Approach” for addressing NPS pollution problems (Tier 1: Self-Determined Implementation of Management Practices [formerly referred to as “voluntary” implementation]; Tier 2: Regulatory Based Encouragement of Management Practices; and Tier 3: Effluent Limitations and Enforcement Actions). Senate Bill 227 (California Water Code [CWC] section 13369) requires the SWRCB to develop by February 1, 2001, guidance for describing the process by which the SWRCB and RWQCBs
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